Colts Neck teen faces attempted murder charge

Police released this sketch last year looking for the person who stabbed a Colts Neck woman. Brennan Doyle, 17, of Colts Neck was charged with attempted murder in the case.
(Photo:
COURTESY MONMOUTH COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE
)

FREEHOLD – A teenager who is accused of committing a home invasion and stabbing in Colts Neck last summer will be prosecuted as an adult, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday.

Brennan Doyle, 17, of Colts Neck, was booked Tuesday into the Monmouth County jail on one count each of first-degree attempted murder; first-degree carjacking, third-degree unlawful possession of a weapon; and fourth-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

His attorney says that Doyle intends to plead not guilty. He is being held in lieu of $760,000 bail with no 10 percent option, as set by state Superior Court Judge James J. McGann.

Shortly after midnight on July 7, 2013, police say Doyle tried to break into a car outside of a Bray Street home in Colts Neck. After a 41-year-old woman inside the home opened the front door to investigate suspicious noises, Doyle forced his way in, stabbed her multiple times, took her car keys and fled in the stolen vehicle, which was later recovered in Aberdeen. The victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition and was discharged several days later.

Doyle’s attorney, Mitchell Ansell, read a statement to the Asbury Park Press on Wednesday afternoon in which he said his client and the Doyle family “hope and pray that (the victim) continues to heal and does whatever it takes to put this horrible tragedy behind her.”

“As for my client, Brennan Doyle, he is a 17-year-old young boy with no prior criminal history whatsoever,” Ansell said. “Although the facts of this case are horrific, there is so much more involved in this case than what is being reported now.”

He declined to elaborate on what was being missed or potential defenses, saying that they intend to let the legal process take its course. Doyle’s case will be presented to a grand jury next, Ansell said, and the family intends to ask the judge to reduce the bail sometime within the next week.

The Asbury Park Press asked the Prosecutor’s Office for a photo of the suspect, but they refused.